Q Many companies focus primarily on the interaction with the customer as being the only arena where customer value can be delivered. There are many areas in the chain of customer interaction where value can be added – the initial marketing planning is one of them. It is fundamental to understand the importance of the marketing plan and its macro affect on the company, its product and the ROI – including a situation analysis,(where is the company now?) a SWOT, and periodical performance reviews. The following topics – in addition to the ones you are expected to add – will provide a framework for this paper and are found in Chapters 14 – 16 of the textbook • Leveraging core competencies • Performance and strategy implementation • Resources allocation • SWOT analysis • Marketing Metrics o Usage barriers o Forward looking metrics o Backward looking metrics • Customer performance Metrics o Customer satisfaction o Customer retention • Financial performance metrics • Shareholder metrics • Relevant articles posted on Canvas by faculty • Other concepts you identify from the text or from current events related to your company of choice and examples from the class discussions on both weekly topics. The objective of this assignment is to realize the value of a marketing plan to the organization – a view of the broader picture and its value and contribution to the overall strategic plan by avoiding a myopic approach to developing markets and hence ongoing customer value. A marketing plan is similar to the GPS in a car. It provides a specific set of guidelines leading to a predetermined – and agreed upon – destination. Without a guide, any place is a destination – which in this case can equal lost market share and decreased customer value. Format: APA, Assignment V Marketing Plans and Performance See Canvas for uploading instructions and due date Font: Times New Roman Size 12, paper length, 4-5 pages. Cover page and reference page are additional pages and should not be included in the page count. It is expected that papers are written in the third person, contain the proper terminology as used in the text and in class, are spelling and grammatically correct – with a high level of clarity and are referenced appropriately. Refrain from pasting in excerpts from the textbook as this will diminish your grade and could be considered plagiarism – resulting in a failing grade.